OTTAWA - The U.S. ambassador to Canada says it is Washington that's asking Canada to expand its role in the Middle East — full stop.
Bruce Heyman says the sequence of conversations and communications between the two countries — who asked what of whom — is of no matter.
Heyman tells The Canadian Press that Canada and the United States have had ongoing conversations at the highest levels about how to collaborate on the crisis in northern Iraq.
He's responding to media reports that suggested, contrary to what Prime Minister Stephen Harper said in New York this week, that Canada was the instigator in seeking to ramp up its role in Iraq.
Harper touched off a firestorm when he revealed the U.S. had recently asked Canada to expand its role in the battle against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.
A Global News report Thursday, however, suggested that the U.S. request was actually in response to a Canadian overture to play a more significant role.
"The United States — just recently, in the last couple of days — has asked for some additional contribution and ... we’re weighing our response," Harper said during a question-and-answer session.
Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird said that if Canada were to contemplate playing a combat role, such as participating in airstrikes, it would be subject to a vote in Parliament.
